Month: February 2009

First the good news: 75% of retailers believe customer-centricity is a “top three success factor” for 2009 and 80% of retailers expect an increased focus on consumer centricity this year, according to IDC’s new “The State of Customer Centricity” study. The reality check from the study, however, shows a gap in retailers’ ability to “walk the walk” on customer-centricity, as IDC found the limited availability of financial and human resources still blocks 37% of customer initiatives.

Borrowing a page from Apple’s playbook, Microsoft plans to open Microsoft-branded retail stores. Although details were limited, Microsoft said the stores’ purpose will be to “create deeper engagement with consumers and continue to learn firsthand about what they want and how they buy.”

With Valentine’s Day spending projections down to $102.50 from 2008’s $122.98 figure, according to NRF, retailers were looking to spread the love and get consumers out spending. While some analysts expressed concern that too many retailers continued to pull the discounting lever, there were some signs this holiday that retailers are getting more creative with cross channel promotional offers that may shore up the broken pricing levels.

Promotional gift cards have had significant appeal to retailers looking to attract new consumers, but one of the major shortcomings about the form of plastic is that most card holders remained anonymous. This made it impossible for merchants to promote to the card holders and drive redemption rates. A new media platform successfully tested with a regional shopping mall could re-write those rules. Continue reading “Personalized Gift Card Platform Promises To Raise Redemption Rates”